2008 Ford Taurus

Previously called the Ford Five Hundred, the new Ford Taurus has over 500 changes, but there are really only three important ones. First, Ford replaced the anemic 3.0-liter V-6 in this full-size sedan with a much stronger (can you say 30 percent and 60 horsepower stronger?) DOHC 3.5-liter V-6. Additionally, gone is Ford's mad-revving CVT and in its place is a conventional six-speed automatic transmission that allows the car to get up and running with surprising agility. Finally, the front and rear suspension has been significantly retuned, vastly improving the control and handling.

To Ford's credit, its engineers tried to give their mainstream sedan some of the qualities that buyers liked in the company's successful SUVs. They raised the seating position in order to provide that commanding view of the road that SUV owners were always going on about, and they added the option of all-wheel drive, because buyers in the Snow Belt often gave that as a justification for an SUV purchase. They also eliminated the cramped sedan feeling of the previous Taurus, creating a car that is exceedingly spacious, with more interior room than a Chrysler 300 or a Toyota Avalon.

Ford had little success with its large, front-drive family sedan called the Ford Five Hundred since its introduction two years ago. So, for 2008, Ford dumped the Five Hundred name and went back to the name of a clear market winner, renaming this car the 2008 Ford Taurus.

This new powertrain makes the Taurus a whole lot more fun to drive than the ill-conceived Five Hundred was.

Taurus competes directly against other larger sedans on the market, chief among them the Toyota Avalon, the Chevrolet Impala, and the Chrysler 300. Against that competitive set, the Taurus is the largest car in the group, and carries four five-star safety ratings for front, rear, side and rollover crashworthiness.

The 2008 Ford Taurus is a much, much better looking car than the Five Hundred, kind of reminiscent of the Lincoln Town Car in a smaller size.

The new engine and transmission in the 2008 Ford Taurus are a wonderful team. The engine is extremely quiet and smooth at idle, and uses a pendulum mounting system that effectively separates its motions and vibrations from the rest of the car.

The new Ford Taurus has about as much useful room inside it, counting the trunk, the folding seats, and the interior layout, as your average crossover SUV. It just happens to look and behave like a family sedan. It's big inside, big outside, and it's taller than almost every other sedan on the market with that big bubble roof, but if it's room you need and room you want, this might be the one. It won't outrun a Chrysler 300 Hemi, but it's quicker than almost everything else in the class, and at these prices, we think it's a real bargain.